Crafted with Claws
by kazarimaple
Summary: (Team Crafted fic) "The seven from beyond the stars shall come to defend the clans from the claws of night." This is the cryptic prophecy given to ThunderClan, dozens of moons after Bramblestar's death. In the midst of the forest, seven kits are born with memories of past lives... (Contains Skylox and Merome. I own nothing. Rated T to be safe)
1. Prologue

A/N: Well, this is my first real fanfic… yeah. I own nothing.

* * *

Sky really didn't understand what the Nether was happening.

Of course, you never do understand what's happening when you wake up in a dark cave and can barely see your hand in front of your face. There was a light, cool feeling pressing down on his skin, along with a smell that reminded him of the rainwater that sometimes trickled into the mines from the surface. The surface of the amethyst on his amulet had a thin layer of condensation resting on it.

"Ty? Jason? Anyone?" he called, only for the words to echo back mockingly. He peered through the shadows a best as he could, and as far as he could tell, he was in a circular cavern with a small opening at its top, a gigantic stone of some sort under that opening, and devoid of any signs of life.  
So, being the person he is, Sky decided to do the only thing that felt logical.  
Yell and run around in circles.

Granted, it was not his best plan ever, as he slipped on a damp patch of stone about five minutes into it and fell flat on his back, staring up at what he presumed to be the roof of the cave. A water droplet plummeted from the stone, landing right in the centre of his forehead. He inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with chilly air, then sharply exhaled as the cavern was bathed in a bright, white light emanating from the giant stone, that, now that Sky could see it, was a gigantic diamond with the shape of a cat's head with a star in it etched deeply into the crystalline surface.

"Notch, that's bright, " he muttered, carefully rising from his spot on the floor into a kneeling position, carefully shielding his eyes from the blinding rays, seeing as his familiar sunglasses were nowhere to be found. As his vision gradually adjusted, he noticed the small shape of a familiar-looking mob silhouetted against the stone, its long tail lashing from side to side.

"Hey there, little guy, " Sky murmured, kneeling as the cat padded slowly closer to him, its orange fur sparkled like it had hundreds of tiny stars woven into the hairs, and its emerald green eyes were sparkling with intelligence. It examined him with interest, though it seemed wary. The feline finally came within an arm's reach, and Sky was sure his mouth dropped open in shock as it spoke.

"You are pure of heart," the cat meowed in a distinctly male voice, and pressed his warm nose against Sky's palm. "I give you leadership."  
And with that, Sky felt his senses growing black, the flame-coloured cat seemed to burst into starlight and flow into his chest, and he felt himself shrinking, a gentle warmth enveloping his body.

* * *

Dapplespots could feel the weight of the oncoming storm on her pelt. Even under the cover of the tree's branches, the ThunderClan Medicine cat knew the sky beyond them was an angry gray, ready to unleash its burden on the territories below.

She bushed out her fur, refocusing her attention on the task at hand; gathering catmint. For many moons, the Medicine cats of ThunderClan had been taught how to care for the precious plant in the shade of what had once been a twoleg nest, now a rotting wooden shell of what it used to be. Dapplespots's ears perked up at the sound of pawsteps behind her, and she turned to see a small, gray tom slipping through the gap between two flat pieces of wood. As the cat came closer, she identified a few stalks of goldenrod clamped between his teeth.

"Well done, Smokepaw," she praised her apprentice, who set down the flowers and smiled gently. "I hope that you didn't ask Rainstripe where to find it this time. Smokepaw shook his head quickly.

"No, Dapplespots! I found it on my own!" "Of course you did," Dapplespots purred, flicking her tail against the young cat's ear affectionately. "Now, can you go and look for borage? StarClan knows we'll need it, with Applefall and Cloudfrost in the nursery. I also have a feeling that Mothwhisker may become their denmate soon."

Smokepaw nodded , spinning around and scampering off into the forest. Dapplespots sighed. Smokepaw was a paw full to handle, and even though he had a really good memory for herbs, his energy was limitless.

A squirrel leapt overhead, bounding off through the clattering branches. Dapplespots peered after it in amusement, then turned, intending to go back to her herbs, but was startled to find two pale paws separating the fresher shoots from the rest. Her gaze travelled upwards until they came to rest on the strange cat's face. Sharp, pale blue eyes glared back at her, and she took in the cat's appearance in full.

It was thin, though not weak-looking, with mottled, gray tabby fur. A thin scar ran down one flank, and a slender tail delicately waved in the soft breeze. Its scent washed over her, and it was made clear that this cat was a tom, but the rest of his scent was nothing like she had ever smelled. Crisp, clear water, with the metallic smell of stone and musky damp earth mixed in faintly, alongside a hint of catmint, though that could've just been the plants around them. As Dapplespots examined him, she realized with a jolt that he was slightly transparent, the growth behind him clearly visible through his pelt.

Even though she had been Thunderclan's sole Medicine cat for a good six moons, Dapplespots still wasn't used to being visited by StarClan.

"W-who are you?" she stammered. She had not seen this cat in her previous dreams at Moonpool.

"That doesn't matter," the tom stated in a firm voice with a rasp around the edges. "I come bearing a message."

Dapplespots's vision began to sway, and as it faded to black, she could hear the same voice whispering in her ear.

"The eight from beyond the stars shall come to defend the clans from the claws of night."

* * *

"-plespots! Dapplespots!"

Dapplespots's eyes shot open to see Smokepaw standing over her, his yellow eyes wide in fear.

"W-what is it, Smokepaw?" she murmured, still trying to get a grip on reality. "Did Cherrypaw step on a thorn again?"

"You wouldn't wake up, I thought you had been knocked out or something!" Smokepaw exclaimed, and Dapplespots realized he was quivering.

"I'm fine, I just got a bit tired," Dapplespots mewed, hoping to calm the frightened apprentice. She turned her head to herbs, and saw that there seemed to be more catmint stalks than before. She blinked, confused for a few seconds, then the events from before she blacked out pooled in her mind. She felt the fur along her spine rise in fright, and forced it to lay flat.

"Let's head back to camp, I need to speak with Stormstar."


	2. Chapter 1: Chills

A/N: First off, I'd like to thank everyone who faved, followed, and/or reviewed. The reviews are very much appreciated, it makes me happy to know that people enjoy my writing, and I have some replies.  
Guest: I'm glad to hear that :)  
Ilikepie1079: I haz more!  
LyraHikaru: Your wish has been granted.  
chicken: I sort of understand your confusion, seeing as the prologue is an introduction. Things will become clearer, I can promise you that. Also, the names in brackets at the end of the summary are a list of pairings that I'm including in this fanfic. Skylox is the pairing of Sky and Deadlox.  
Without further ado, read on to the first chapter!

* * *

Chills

Sky's P.O.V

Awakeness was really appealing to Sky right now.

For the longest time, weeks, he felt, he'd been here. From what he could tell, he was in a nest of some sort, and even that idea was fuzzy around the edges. Wherever he was, it was really warm and damp, with squishy walls pressing in on him from all sides, and there was really nothing to do but think during brief moments of awareness. His only companion seemed to be a relatively loud, rhythmic thumping right beside him that shook him to his core, until at one point, it occurred to Sky that there was at least one other presence beside him, but the presence was familiar in a way, and he didn't know why.

It was a lot different than the cave he'd been in before, both in situation and environment.

For one thing, he couldn't open his eyes or breathe.

It wasn't the breathing, or lack thereof, that he was worried about. Sky wasn't breathing simply because it seemed there was no need to. His chest stayed nice and comfortable during the entire ordeal, so there was no fear of suffocation clouding his mind. He just wanted to open his eyes and actually see his surroundings, at least then he would have a better idea of where he was.

And the one idea he had come up with made him feel uneasy.

Very, very uneasy.

Uneasy enough that he didn't dare think about it after it had invaded his mind.

So, Sky thought about the rest of Team Crafted, and three main questions he wanted answers to.

1. Were they okay?

2. Were they nearby?

3. What the Nether had happened to them?

He pondered these, examining them from every aspect he could come up with and thinking of theories, but none of them logical, even with the odd logic that the world of Minecraftia possessed, where dirt didn't fall if there was nothing under it and skeletons appeared out of thin air in darkness to attack unwary passerby, vanishing just as quickly. It made no sense.

Then, there was a spark.

Not an electric spark, but a mental one that told Sky to start moving. He could feel the secondary presence, or presences, he didn't know, grow restless, and the thumping grew faster.

The walls lurched, forcing him to squirm around to avoid being forced into an uncomfortable position. He thought it best to just go with the flow for the time being, and let his body go limp, tumbling through a warm tunnel at a very slow pace.

The cold was severely uncalled for.

It wracked his body, chilling him to his bones so suddenly that he cried out in shock.

Only it wasn't a human cry.

He mewed.

Beneath closed lids, Sky felt his eyes widen in shock, and he snapped his mouth shut just as something gently bit the back of his neck, though his skin seemed to become a bit like the hood of a coat as he was lifted into the air, his body curling up instinctively.

In that moment, his mind finally processed that he had meowed, and it came crashing down on him like a chest full of cobblestone.

Sky was a kitten.

And he really did not want to think about what had occurred a mere thirty seconds before.

* * *

Mitch's P.O.V

Mitch was chilly.

Even while he was drifting somewhere between sleep and the real world, he could feel it. The breeze that ruffled what he had concluded was fur all over his body was irritating, and he wanted none of it, snuggling deeper into the pelt of what he knew was his mama. Honestly, Mitch thought he was taking the whole "I was born as a cat when just a while ago I was a human" thing a bit too well. For Notch's sake, he had suckled before he even had a chance to comprehend what this meant for his life.

For his friends' lives.

He couldn't hear very well yet, and was slightly disoriented by the scents that overwhelmed his poor nose. He could sense two other kittens on either side of him, though one of them wasn't suckling, instead opting to sleep. If he focused hard, he could pick out a few voices, faint, but just loud enough for him to know what they were saying.

"Three healthy toms. Hawkfire, you and Applefall should be very proud!" a feminine meow, filled with amusement and warm as the sun, if that made any sense. It didn't to Mitch, even though he was the one who thought it.

"So should you! They're your sister's kits, after all!" this voice was definitely a male, most likely belonging to this "Hawkfire".

'Strange name,' Mitch mused.

"Would you two not talk so loudly? 'Your sister's kits' are trying to sleep!" yet another voice joined in, whispering harshly from a spot to the left and above of Mitch. Mama Benja-cat, as Mitch had dubbed her.

"Sorry, Applefall," the female voice purred, lowering her tone to a bit above what Mama Benja used. "I'm just excited to be kin to these three, I can't help but be a bit louder than usual."

The sound of soft footsteps made its way over to where Mitch and his siblings were lying, curled up beside Mama Benja. Mitch felt a tongue lick over his ear, and he squeaked in surprise. He couldn't help it, he just wasn't used to his own mouth yet. A deep, rumbling purr came from over his head.

"Speaking of the kits, have you any names in mind?" Hawkfire asked, a bit closer now, and Mitch concluded that he was the cat that had licked him.

Mama Benja, or Applefall, as her name was, made a light humming noise in her throat, and Mitch heard the swish of fur as a tail swept over his head to rest on the kitten that was sleeping.

"I'm thinking of Sunkit for this one," The tail waved the other way, indicating the other kit beside him. "And Skykit."

'Sky and Ian?' Mitch thought. 'Makes sense that they're here, sort of.'

"Good names,"the still unknown voice said. "I had a feeling you'd name at least one of your kits after those stories that Duskheart told us."

"Hey, I loved those stories, Dapplespots," Applefall meowed, putting a name to the other voice. "And SkyClan sounded so amazing."

"Too bad they were driven out of the old territories," Hawkfire said, sounding a bit sorrowful. "And what about the last kit?"

"I'm not sure about a name for him…" Applefur trailed off, and Mitch knew they were talking about him.

"If I may, I think I have a good idea for his name," Dapplespots spoke up. "Maplekit."

Mitch sensed the change in atmosphere immediately. Hawkfire shuffled his paws, and Applefur had a sense of sadness radiating off of her.

"Maplestrike, may he rest in peace," she said softly, running her tail over Mitch's fur.

"He looks a lot like your father, you have to admit," Hawkfire said.

"…It suits him," Applefur stated, and the aura of depression vanished from the air.

"Then it's decided," Dapplespots mewed. "Skykit, Sunkit, and Maplekit."

'This is going to take getting used to,' Mitch thought.


	3. Chapter 2: Welcome to ThunderClan

A/N: hello again, everyone, and welcome to chapter two of Crafted With Claws! As always, thank you all for the reviews, favs, and follows. Just so you know, updates may/may not be constant, seeing as I have school, and I only have access to my computer every second week. I ask for your understanding.

Also, I'm putting any art I may create for this story on my DeviantArt, the link for which is in my bio. I've already drawn Sky, Ian, and Mitch, and I will be drawing the others when they come into the story.

* * *

Chapter 2: Welcome to ThunderClan

Mitch/Maplekit's P.O.V

It was the dampness on his fur that made Mitch open his eyes.

With a shudder, he curled up tighter, trying to go back to the quiet, peaceful dream he'd been having, about spending a perfect summer afternoon with Jerome at a beach biome, but with no such luck. The water trickled deeper into his pelt, leaving an icy trail behind it. Giving up, he slowly let his eyelids open a bit before blinking a few times for his vision to adjust.

Thick tendrils of bramble stretched high over his head, intertwined with what looked like tree roots and forming a roof of some sort, though sunlight filtered through a few small gaps. A layer of really soft moss was below his body, blanketing a floor of tightly packed dirt. A couple other nests of moss were scattered around the room, and Mitch assumed they were meant for other cats, though it seemed the area was mostly empty of anyone.

Speaking of other cats, Mitch turned to look at what was now his family, sort of. A large, at least compared to his size, ginger and cream cat was curled up on its side, and against its belly were two kittens with a gap between them, where Mitch had been asleep just a short while earlier. The kitten on his right was a dark ginger, gently dappled with faint lighter patches that were only visible up close. The other was ginger too, though a lighter shade than the first kitten, with dark markings on its paws and tail.

Mitch, now curious about the colouring of his fur, turned his head, seeing a mainly white pelt with ginger, black, and cinnamon patches all along his back and tail. One of his front paws was black, the other ginger.

'Wow,' he thought, making sure what he was seeing was reality. 'I'm actually a cat. And a calico cat, to boot. I thought all calico cats were girls? What are you thinking, Mitch. You were turned into a cat, and you question why your fur is calico?'

Shaking his head, Mitch stood up on shaky paws… and promptly fell over with a quiet 'floof'.

"Mrr… Maplekit?"

Mitch froze, staring at his Mama-Benja as she raised her giant head, looking at him with sleepy dark green eyes. Her long whiskers twitched with amusement, and she purred at seeing him laying on his side, it being evident that he had fallen over. He felt his fur grow hot with embarrassment, and he quickly got up , shaking the warm feeling off.

"H-hi," he mewed, and inwardly flinched at how much his voice had changed. It was still recognizable as his voice, though it was much higher-pitched than when he was human.

"It's good to see you opened your eyes," Applefall said, shifting her paws so she was in a sitting position, jostling the two kittens that Mitch knew were Sky and Ian, though he wasn't sure which was which. "Your brothers opened theirs just before last sundown. I was worried something was wrong."

Mitch felt an odd feeling in his backside, and he realized his tail was moving, waving from side to side in a slow arc. His mind racing, he quickly came up with a question that would let him get a bit more familiar with the world he and his friends had fallen into.

"May I please go outside, Mama?"

Applefall's eyes widened with mild surprise, only to soften with a strong gentleness.

"Of course, just wake up Skykit and Sunkit to introduce yourself," she murmured, touching her tail to the dark ginger kit when she said Sky's new name, and to the lighter when she said Ian's. "They already know you, but it would do good to tell them your name by yourself."

"Okay," Mitch replied, going along with the 'I'm only a few days old' facade.

He put his focus on his paws, putting one in front of the other to make his way to 'Skykit' first. With only a bit of trouble, he managed to walk to his friend/brother, and prodded him.

"Sky," Mitch hissed in his ear, careful to not let Applefall overhear him. "Sky, get your butter-loving butt awake."

"Nooo… stop licking the butter…" Sky mumbled, confirming his identity. His voice seemed to have underwent a similar change to Mitch's, still recognizable, just higher. "Stupid squids… you're so annoying…"

Mitch thought for a second, then came up with a solution. Instinctively, he felt a set of thorn-sharp claws unsheathe from his toes, then dug a claw into Sky's thick fur.

"I'm up!" Sky yelped, scrambling to his feet and staring at Mitch in shock. "What was that for?!"

"Hi, Skykit," Mitch said cheerily, gesturing with his eyes towards Applefall, who was staring at them. "I'm Maplekit."

Sky's mind seemed to take a second to register the information, then his eyes flashed with understanding. "Hi, Maplekit. Nice to meet you."

"Should we wake up Sunkit together?" Mitch asked.

"Let's," Sky mewed, a hint of mischief flickering in his blue eyes, which Mitch assumed had not changed colour yet.

"On the count of three. One," Mitch let his newfound instincts take over, turning towards the sleeping form of Ian and readying his body into what he thought was a proper pouncing crouch.

"Two," Sky assumed the same position, tail lashing from side to side.

"Three!"

They leaped at the same moment, soaring through the air to reach their target. Mitch's paws connected first, and he collapsed on top of Ian, Sky following shortly after. Ian jolted awake, flailing his limbs in panic.

"Waah!" Ian yowled, writhing under the other two. "Call it off! Call it off!"

"Sunkit, stop your screeching. I'm pretty sure that if any cat wasn't awake already, they are now," Sky purred with laughter, rolling around on top of Mitch and Ian. "Besides, you haven't met Maplekit officially yet."

"Eh? Oh, yeah!" Ian's ears perked up as he shoved Mitch and Sky off of him. "Greetings, Maplekit! It's nice to see you have joined us in awareness!"

"Hello to you, too!" Mitch exclaimed, then turned to Applefall. "Can we go outside now?"

"Definitely," Applefall said. "I remember when Dapplespots and I were kits, we couldn't wait to leave the Nursery."

"Let's go, then!" Sky yelled, racing towards the entrance, which Mitch hadn't noticed.

"Wait up, Skykit!" Ian followed, running as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Bye, Mama!" Mitch meowed over his shoulder, padding to the tunnel through the brambles.

"Don't get under any cat's paws!" Applefall called after them, then curled back up to sleep.

* * *

Sky's P.O.V

Sky took a long moment to adjust to the sunlight blinding him. When his vision cleared up, he gasped in amazement.

"Freaking balls," Ian mewed from his side, his voice close to a whisper.

"If Jerome could see this," Mitch breathed.

The three were in a gigantic stone quarry, gray cliffs rising high above them. About a dozen cats were milling about in the clearing. Two cats, larger than them, but not fully grown, tumbled past them in a knot of reddish-and-brown fur, and Sky could hear a pair of voices coming from it.

"Nice try, Fawnpaw!"

"You're just saying that because I'm going to win!"

"No!"

"Yeah!"

A ledge of rock jutted out from the walls, and Sky could just make out a cave in the stone behind it, a curtain of bramble forming a bit of a barrier over the entrance. Beneath the ledge, a small pile of prey animals lay, a few cats laying near it. Multiple dens were placed near the edges of the camp, and the roots of a fallen tree encased the Nursery behind them.

"This way," Sky meowed, turning to his left, only to be met by a pair of light gray furred legs. Stumbling back, he looked up into a pair of ice-blue eyes.

"Hello, kits," the cat purred in a plainly female voice, a long, plumy tail swishing behind her. "You're Applefall's litter, aren't you?"

"Y-yeah," Sky replied, recovering his footing. "I'm Skykit. These two behind me are Sunkit and Maplekit."

"Hi!" Ian said brightly.

"N-nice to meet you," Mitch stammered. Sky assumed he was still in a bit of shock from the mere size of their surroundings.

"Well, I'm Fleetleap," she smiled happily. "I'm one of the clan's warriors."

"Clan?" Ian asked.

"Right, you three were just born a few sunrises ago," Fleetleap flicked her ear. "The cats you see around you, and you three yourselves, are part of Thunderclan. ThunderClan is basically a group of cats that care for, feed, and defend each other. There are three other clans, WindClan, RiverClan, and ShadowClan, but I think you'll most likely learn about those later."

"Fleetleap!"

Sky looked to where the voice came from, and spotted a large gray tabby standing there, his tail flicking impatiently.

"Fleetleap, you have a patrol, remember?" he meowed, though he didn't sound angry. "You can hang out with the new kits later."

"Be right there, Thistlefang!" Fleetleap called, then turned to the kits once more. "That's my brother. He's a pain in the tail sometimes, but he means well."

"Fleetleap!"

"Coming!" the she-cat turned, running to join Thistlefang as they padded through a large thorn bush.

Sky blinked.

"Well then…" Mitch murmured. "That was…"

"Interesting," Ian finished, walking in front of the other two. "C'mon, then. Find a corner where nobody can overhear us."

As it turned out, there were plenty of unused corners in the ThunderClan… base, such as the spot behind the Nursery they had decided to converse in.

"So…" Mitch began. "We've been turned into cats."

"Check," Ian said.

"With no idea how it happened."

"Double check," Sky said.

"And we have no freaking clue if the rest of Team Crafted is in the same situation, or if they're even alive."

"Triple check," Sky and Ian chorused, though Sky felt a bit discouraged at the last bit.

"Just great. Sky, I'm blaming this on you."


	4. Chapter 3: Badger's Mask & Dappled Spots

A/N: Hello everyone, and welcome to another chapter of Crafted With Claws! I'd like to thank everyone for the support I've been getting, and always remember that reviews are appreciated, along with any constructive criticism.

Without further ado, please enjoy!

* * *

Chapter three: Badger's mask and Dappled spots

Sky's P.O.V

"What?! Why are you pinning this on me?!" Sky exclaimed, and almost threw his hands in the air until he remembered that he didn't have hands anymore, and would probably fall on his face if he did. Sure, he was responsible for most accidents that happen, like that time a Wither got into Sky Base and almost demolished it, or that other time he decided having a pet slime was a good idea until it multiplied and they almost killed Quentin, or that other other time when he bumped into Seto, who splashed a potion he was working on all over Ty. They still couldn't figure out why he turned into a tree, though it was reversible. But this time, it was definitely not his fault.

"Sky, considering how much trouble you cause in your own base, Mitch'd be insane to not blame you," Ian pointed out. Sky gave him his best death glare.

"It wasn't me, I swear by the name of butter!"

"I think that 'Ty the Tree' would agree with us."

"Besides the point," Mitch cut in.

"What point?!"

"We're kittens in an unfamiliar place. Our friends are quite possibly in danger, and we have no way of figuring out for ourselves how to get home."

"This day just keeps getting better and better," Sky groaned. "Notch, please don't do dis."

"Stop quoting Ty, Adam," Ian said. "The best thing we can probably do at this point is go with the flow, get to know our surroundings. Who knows, we might find everyone while we're at it."

"Or, they could be right under our noses," Sky pointed out. "There were other nests in the Nursery. If I'm right, which I'm probably not, there are other female cats with kittens. If the others ended up in the same situation as us…"

"They could be those kittens," Mitch finished, his eyes widening slightly. "Sky, I never though I'd say this, but you're a genius."

"Thank you."

"Also, if we're now 'brothers', the Skyenja shippers are out of luck."

The three inconspicuously slipped out from behind the Nursery, making sure no cat saw them. When they were in the clear, Sky turned to his 'brothers'.

"So, where should we start?" He asked, gesturing to the rest of the quarry with his tail. It was a bit hard getting used to it, but easy to move, no different than moving an arm or a leg.

Ian was first to speak up.

"I think that the Fresh-Kill pile would be a good place to start," he meowed, then caught the look Mitch was giving him. "I learned the name when Applefall mentioned it. Don't look at me like that! This is my first time outside, too!"

"The Fresh-Kill pile it is, then," Sky said quickly, before Mitch could accuse Ian of going outside without them. "Let's go, and I'll try to not almost run into anyone."

He turned and ran towards the small heap of prey, Ian following closely, and Mitch struggling a bit to keep up. In retrospect, they really should have given him more time to get used to his new body. Oh, well.

With a small cloud of dust, Sky skidded to a stop in front of the Fresh-Kill pile. Staring at it, he realized just how tiny he really was. A squirrel that was slightly bigger then he was was slumped on top of a few other animals that should have been tiny if he was his normal size. Mice that were about the size of a pinecone were now almost as big as his head alone. A bird in the pile had a wingspan of his body, and the large rabbit was at least twice his size.

"Whoa, we're small," He muttered, taking in the sheer size of everything all at once. The cliffs seemed even bigger, the treetops peeking over the edges seemingly dozens of meters away.

"No duh," Mitch said from beside him.

* * *

Mitch's P.O.V (It will mainly alternate between these two for now)

Mitch's whiskers twitched, alerting him to a presence behind them, which he turned to face.

Like every other cat besides them, the one standing before him was huge, though this one was a bit larger than any he'd seen so far. The cat's scent washed over his nose in a sudden wave, earthy and crisp, the scent of the forest, and he instantly knew it was a guy, though he wasn't sure how. His black-and-white fur was long and smooth, the edges of the patches clearly visible. A large, dark mark over his amber eyes caused them to especially stand out.

"Er… Hi," Mitch said, staring up at the cat, who dipped his head in greetings.

"I can safely assume that you three are Skykit, Sunkit, and Maplekit, correct?" his meow was deep and resonant, free of any sort of rasp.

"Yep!" Sky chirped.

"I'm Badgermask, deputy of ThunderClan," he said. "I met Fleetleap when I was headed back to camp, and she told me you three were out and about."

"Deputy?" Ian asked, confusion evident in his voice. "What's a Deputy do?"

"For starters, I'm second in command to Stormstar, our leader. I organize patrols and such," Badgermask's whiskers twitched, and Mitch got the sense that that was the equivalent of a withheld chuckle.

"Awesome," Sky said.

"Now, do you want to see the rest of the camp?" Badgermask asked.

"Of course!" Mitch exclaimed. That wasn't a facade, he really was excited.

"Then let's go!" The deputy turned and began to go at a pace similar to jogging, stopping every once in a while for the minecraftians-turned-cats to catch up. It was slightly difficult for Mitch to keep pace with Sky and Ian, but he didn't mind.

"This is the Medicine cat's den," Badgermask announced, coming to a halt in front of a cave in the rock, sort of like the cave above the ledge. "Our Medicine cat, Dapplespots, sleeps here, along with her apprentice, Smokepaw, and any cat who is very sick. Fortunately, no cat is overcome with illness right now, so it's safe to go inside."

Mitch examined the entrance to the cave, memorizing its shape for later. The smell of dried herbs wafted out of the den, and he couldn't help but take a look. His fluffy pelt brushing against the tendrils of bramble hanging over the entrance, Mitch stepped into the small cavern. In the slightly dimmed light, he could see a few moss nests like those in the nursery placed near a small pool of water, its source being a slow trickle from the roof. A tunnel led deeper into the cave, where he assumed Dapplespots slept. The sound of footsteps came from the tunnel, and Mitch watched as a calico cat stepped out from the shadows, her pale green eyes seemingly glowing.

"Hi there, Badgermask," she meowed, and Mitch recognized her voice from when he had his eyes closed. This had to be Dapplespots. "Taking my nephews on a tour, are you?"

"Dapplespots," Badgermask greeted her. "Kits, this is Dapplespots. She's your mother's sister."

"Hello," the three chorused.

"Hi, Maplekit, Sunkit, Skykit," she dipped her head to touch her nose to each kit's forehead. "I'm sure you three will grow up to be amazing warriors."

"We'll do our best," Mitch mewed.

"Now, I'll go back to sorting the fresh herbs from the old ones. Smokepaw keeps mixing them together," and with that, Dapplespots padded back into the tunnel, turning a corner and her tail vanishing from sight.


	5. Chapter 4: True Fall

A/N: Hey, doods! Sorry for the hiatus, I've just had quite a bit on my plate over the last month, with Christmas, Tumblr, and my school grade, I've been juggling some stuff. However, now I'm back, and I hope to get back into my writing schedule ASAP! Though this chapter may be short, we finally get to see another member's view on things, and Adam's theory was not correct! Review if you want, I'm always open to constructive criticism, and enjoy!

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Chapter four: True fall

"Mudkit, Truekit, get down from there!"

Jason felt his fur prickle as he glanced down at the ground, his needle-sharp but weak claws digging deeper into the wood of the willow tree when he thought about the distance to the ground. On a lower branch, Quentin curled his silver striped tail around the limb like a monkey, purring in what Jason recognized as laughter.

"Truekit!" Icestorm glared up at the two, green eyes blazing. "You and your brother get down here this instant, or so help me, I will climb up there after you!"

"Let them have their fun, Icestorm," Goldenhawk advised from a few fox-lengths away, stretched out with her pale ginger belly exposed to the sky. "Before long, they'll be too heavy for the branches to hold their weight."

"Go, you two!" Otterkit squeaked out of excitement from her spot by Goldenhawk, while her siblings Pouncekit and Willowkit frolicked in the reeds.

Icestorm lashed her tail in frustration, keeping her sharp gaze on Jason.

Jason slowly retracted his claws on one paw, reaching upwards to grasp another part of the wood and hauling himself up quickly after, hind paws easily gaining hold on the soft bark. He'd almost reached the highest branches of the tree that was not too long ago a sapling, so he wasn't exactly very high, but he guessed that if he climbed just a bit higher, he'd be able to see the lake that he'd heard was right to the edge of RiverClan territory.

"I can almost see the lake, Mudkit!" Jason called down to his littermate, who was currently gaining purchase on a particularly slippery branch. It seemed that he wasn't good at climbing trees as a cat, though he seemed to be doing better than he would in his bipedal form. Quentin really didn't resemble a Mudkip anymore, though he kept the spiky cheeks and a bit of fur stuck up on top of his head like a fin, but he mostly just looked like a cat. A dark silver tabby.

Jason, on the other hand, er, paw, had a bit more noticeable features that pertained to when he was a minecraftian. His fur was a light blue-gray, almost the exact shade as his spacesuit when the light hit it correctly, and his eyes were a startlingly bright shade of amber-orange. He didn't know what had happened to the others, only that he was stuck with the Mudkip, in a highly organized society of feral cats that resembled tribes, or "Clans", as they called their groups.

Shaking his head free of the few small twigs that had made a nest in his fur, Jason peered intently through the branches for any sign of the lake. In the corner of his eye, he spotted a flash of blue, and whipped his head towards the colour, ignoring the ominous creaking coming from beneath his paws.

His eyes widened as he saw the lake, even if it was just a fragment of a glimpse.

"I see it! I see it!" He exclaimed just before the branch gave out beneath him, and he was plummeting towards the thin layer of grass surrounding the roots of the willow tree.

"Truekit!" He heard Quentin and Icestorm gasp, and a split second before he came in for a harsh landing, he was snatched out of the air, his body jolting around as his rescuer came to a stop.

"And that is why you don't let kits climb that high," the larger cat stated in a powerful voice that was all too familiar to Jason.

"Erk!" Jason bit back the complaint that was about to burst out of his mouth. Of course he was going to fall! Why didn't he think before he'd suggested tree climbing? The transformation to a kitten just shy of a week and a half old must've clouded his common sense.

Before he could say a word, he was quickly taken from the cat into the fussy embrace of Icestorm, who insisted on keeping him trapped between her paws while she gave his head too many reassuring licks to count.

"What were you thinking?" she reprimanded him while Quentin scuttled down from the tree, barely noticeable. "You could have seriously injured yourself!"

"I'm fine," Jason muttered half-heartedly, and looked guiltily upwards into the stern glare of his father.

"Think before you act, Truekit," Pikestar meowed, then his gaze softened. "I'm just glad you're all right. I couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to you or Mudkit"

"I swear, I'm fine," Jason squirmed out of Icestorm's grip, then padded away as quickly as he could, his ears burning in embarrassment.

"I bet none of the others have to deal with that," Quentin reappeared, walking alongside the shorter cat.

"I hope they do," MinecraftUniverse glanced frustratedly back at the two cats watching him in worry. "We'll find the rest of Team Crafted, regardless of what they may say. They aren't even our actual parents."


End file.
